This invention relates to an automatic disk changing apparatus for plural reproducing-only or recording/reproducing possible optical disks such as CD-ROMS, magneto-optical disks, phase change optical disks, etc, and a disk tray for the automatic disk changing apparatus. In addition to these, this invention relates also to an automatic disk changing apparatus for plural reproducing-only or recording/reproducing possible high-density double-faced optical disks, such as digital optical disks (DVD).
The applications of optical disks are now rapidly expanding, since the disks are now available, not only for use as the external memory of a computer, but also as the image processing medium utilizing its extremely high memory capacity and processing speed. Such a recording/reproducing capability became possible recently. Even an automatic disk changing apparatus (hereinafter, autochanger in short) for holding high volume optical disks, which makes the management and operation of high volume data possible, is now commercially available.
Two types of known autochangers are now available, i.e., a cartridge type autochanger holding plural cartridges in a cartridge storage, each of which includes an optical disk, and a tray type autochanger holding plural detachable trays in a so-called magazine, each of which has an optical disk therein.
The former is used mostly in an autochanger dedicated to the recording/reproducing possible optical disks, such as the magneto-optical disk and the phase change optical disk. The later is used an autochanger dedicated for reproducing-only optical disks, such as a CD-ROM.
In the cartridge type autochanger, such as shown in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Patent Hei 3-45319 dealing optical disks, a cartridge is pulled out by an instrument called a picker, and the pulled out cartridge is placed on a data processing drive, wherein processes, such as the recording or reproducing of data, are executed. In a case where the disk is a double-face type of disk, wherein recording/reproducing on both surfaces is possible, the cartridge can be reversed by reversing the picker so that a recording/reproducing process can be performed on each of the double surfaces.
Moreover, a cartridge provided with a write-protect tug, confirming the recording possibility of internally held recording/reproducing possible optical disks, is shown in the Japanese Laid-Open Utility Patent Hei 2-92887. By providing a write protect tug and by using a drive adapted for this, the possibility of erratic data erasing can be prevented beforehand.
However, with such autochangers, the occupied device volume per disk is inevitably large so that a problem, such as a excessively large volume of high-capacity autochanger, is possible. Moreover, since the drive is operational only for recording/reproducing optical disks, such as the magneto-optical disk and the phase change optical disk, a reproducing-only optical disk, such as a CD-ROM, cannot be stored and processed together with a disk of another type. Hence, an autochanger of this type would not be able to meet with various applications that will be possible in the coming multimedia age.
On the other hand, with the tray-type autochanger dealing optical disks, as shown in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Patent Hei 3-212847, for example, a number of trays having individual optical disks are held within the autochanger of this type. One of the trays is fetched by the picker and is placed on the drive and processed. Since the volume per disk occupied by an autochanger of this type is much less than that of before-mentioned autochanger, this would be advantageous with respect of the volume reduction of a device.
However, since the drive is operational only with reproducing-only optical disks, such as CD-ROMs, excluding the recording/reproducing type of optical disks, such as magneto-optical disks and phase change optical disks, a problem, such as the impossibility of recording and storage of high capacity data, including video images, is inevitable. Moreover, since only reproducing-only disks can be held in the tray adapted for this device and these disks cannot be discriminated from the recording/reproducing possible optical disks, this could be another problem.
Furthermore, since optical disks having double surfaces, such as the digital optical disk (DVD) are coming in the near future, requiring a disk reversing means, the automatic processing cannot be preformed within the changer so that a manual disk reversing process would have to be carried out after taking out of the device.